This bill, the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025, is a very important one. I'm grateful to the minister for her work on this legislation and for bringing it to our parliament, as this is a vital step in the strengthening our nation's most treasured social program, Medicare.
Medicare was the backbone of my professional life for almost 40 years before I entered this parliament. It's something that Labor holds as one of its treasures delivered to the Australian people. We recognise the importance of providing health care to our constituents much more so than does the coalition. This bill is important. It was delivered to the House of Representatives during the last parliament but was delayed in the Senate and unfortunately lapsed before it could be passed.
At its core, this bill advances the importance of Medicare as a social program and provides guarantees about its continuity as a social program for all Australians. The work that was done by the Albanese government in the last term has been very important in repairing the damage caused by the coalition's 10 years in power. They didn't present one strengthening-Medicare bill in the entire 10 years they were in government. Tragically, we saw increasing pressures not just on our public health hospitals but also on our Medicare system in the 10 years of coalition government. Bulk-billing rates were beginning to deteriorate, even as the coalition were in their last years of power in this country. Unfortunately, the coalition does not understand the importance of a program such as Medicare and the importance that health care plays in having a vital functioning economy.
At its core, this bill advances three principle aims. Firstly, it safeguards the integrity of Medicare by tightening rules and strengthening the payment systems and compliance powers. This is very important in terms of not just how our medical practices function but how our pharmacies function, how our allied health programs work and how we can make sure that compliance is part of the whole system. Secondly, it modernises the regulatory framework around medicines and pharmacies, including with better tools to anticipate and manage shortages.
We know that, even before the pandemic, there were medicine shortages, but during the pandemic this was exacerbated by supply chain issues, and they are continuing to this day. A number of medications, including medications that we require quite frequently, such as some antibiotics, some cholesterol medication and some drugs that are used for high blood pressure et cetera, are in short supply. There are moderate to severe shortages in some of these areas, and it's very important that this regulatory framework allows tools to anticipate and manage those shortages by looking at different supply systems and compliance with those supply systems. It also refines and redevelops public health legislation, including those around tobacco and vaping. Whilst it's by no means perfect, there were some major advances in control of illegal tobacco and vaping made in the last parliament. It's worth noting also the work undertaken to get to this moment, as these amendments respond directly to the recommendations of the Philip review, which highlighted some weaknesses in compliance and oversight.
Having said that, overwhelmingly our medical practitioners, pharmacists, allied health and nursing staff are very diligent in compliance and very diligent in making sure that there are no deviations from appropriate and proper compliance in delivering health services and medications. In its report, the Philip review found that, whilst the majority of health professionals act with integrity, the system is not immune to abuse. We have certainly seen that some people are already being charged because of some of the compliance problems and outright fraud that have occurred in the system across some health practitioners, including pharmacists, medical practitioners and nursing staff. I must stress that the Philip review, however, found that health professionals overwhelmingly act with integrity and the system itself has been very stable in the last 20 years.
A number of reports have been made about the money lost to incorrect or inappropriate claims, but this is tiny compared with the overall scheme. There have certainly been instances of fraud; however, much more has been lost due to the complexity of the system, which can result in multiple services done across a whole range of different practitioners, most of whom are well meaning but have made mistakes in compliance.
The amendments are necessary to protect the integrity and support the ongoing sustainability of our health benefits scheme, the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. All of these are very close to my heart, and, whilst it's clear that more could be done in delivering some services, such as dental, to our constituents, the system itself has become overly complex and overly unnecessarily tied up in lack of information and in red tape. Some key areas of reform in the current legislation include reducing the periods in which bulk-billing claims can be submitted from two years to one year. I think that is very important. If you can't get your claims in within a year, it certainly seems to me that there is something wrong with your practice. In my own practice, with Medicare claims, I made sure the claims were submitted within four weeks of people presenting to me and the claims being registered. We submitted our claims very quickly, and the vast majority of practices will be able to submit their claims within that 12-month period. We're reducing it from it the two-year period because, the longer we give people to claim, the more likely there is to be noncompliance and difficulty with records. This will tighten loopholes and improve accountability whilst providing the minister with the discretion to allow claims to be submitted after one year if a case can be made.
Further, we're streamlining the pharmacy approval process to make it easier for new pharmacies to open, thereby improving patient access to the advice and the medications that they need. This is very important in an electorate like mine, Macarthur, where we have new suburbs springing up all the time. Often they don't have infrastructure, including health infrastructure. Often it's very difficult for people to open new pharmacies in those areas, and this is because of the old-fashioned rules that will be present until this legislation passes. I also note it's really important in the member for Hume's electorate, where there are new suburbs, like in my electorate, springing up all the time. I constantly get calls about the lack of healthcare resources in both his electorate and in mine.
By amending the National Health Act, we're improving the process by which the minister can exercise discretion to approve pharmacists opening pharmacies in different areas. As I said, this has been a real problem in some of the rapidly developing areas, and I applaud it. It's achieved by combining the two stages of the current process into one stage, restricting repeat applications, allowing the minister to delegate the approval of a request form and increasing the term of appointment for Australian Community Pharmacy Authority members to three years. This will streamline the process, making it much more efficient, and it will certainly take a lot of pressure off federal MPs, who are often approached by pharmacies wanting approval for a new pharmacy in their electorate. It will certainly reduce the administrative burden and support more timely access to pharmaceutical services in new electorates. This is particularly important for booming areas such as my own electorate of Macarthur as well as more rural and regional areas.
We are bringing together previously fragmented legislation and investigative tools under a more efficient system to help investigate fraudulent claims in Medicare and pharmaceutical benefits. For too long, there have been unnecessary restrictions and challenging inconsistencies that have prohibited investigators from carrying out their work efficiently and effectively. I've spoken to many of the previous Medicare compliance heads, who I've known personally, including my old friend Tony Webber, who was a GP practising in my area for many years. They have all mentioned the difficulty in dealing with the previously very fragmented legislation and its compliance measures. Importantly, this new legislation expands the reach of powers to include offences under the Criminal Code Act to ensure fraud or other criminal acts can be appropriately punished. This was previously very difficult in the old legislation. Overall, the current powers are so narrow that they impede the proper exercise of functions to detect, investigate and refer fraud or non-compliance matters to higher authorities.
We're also amending legislation regarding vaping and tobacco products and how they are advertised. Again, this is very important in an electorate like mine where there are vaping and tobacco shops appearing every five minutes and our young people are exposed to the harms of nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking. Vaping is a major scourge in our society. However, after talking to several of the high schools in the Macarthur electorate at least, I am pleased to report that they are noticing fewer problems with vaping in the last 12 months. That's a tribute to the health minister's diligence in pursuing compliance around tobacco and vaping laws.
The reforms are all important steps that our government is taking to reinforce the integrity and viability of Medicare, one of our finest institutions and part of every Labor member's DNA. Ever since it was established, successive Labor governments have worked to improve and reinforce the Medicare system, and this bill is another part of its proud history. We did a lot in the previous parliament. We couldn't repair all the damage done to the health system by the coalition's 10 years in power, but, every day, it's part of our DNA to make sure that all Australians get access to Medicare benefits and to support our health system. Ever since it was established, Labor governments have worked to improve and reinforce the Medicare system, and this bill is just another part of this very proud history. By investing in and adjusting our healthcare system to ensure it's fit for purpose, we're reducing costs and improving outcomes for all Australians. This bill is another example of our government ensuring that Medicare belongs to the Australian people, and we will protect and reinforce it.
These changes brought by the minister are crucial to ensure that every dollar allocated to Medicare is used for its intended purpose, which is to provide quality, affordable health care for every Australian. I am proud to be part of our public healthcare system. I still work in the healthcare system, although not as much as I did previously. I'm proud of the legacy of the Whitlam government with the first national public health insurance scheme, and I will fight to protect it as every Labor member will. I'm proud of this history. I know there is more to be done, and I know we need to do more with Medicare and getting people access to dental care. I know there is more to be done around the health issues with the NDIS. I know there is more to be done with a whole range of issues. I know that with the PBS there is a tsunami of new treatments and new medications being presented every day to the Australian system. We have the best system in the world. Of that there is no doubt.
It is part of my belief that if we protect our healthcare system we will have a healthier economy and a healthier social system that protects all Australians. I'm proud of this legislation, I'm proud to be part of this government, and I commend this bill to the House.
